The Research Institute of Linguistics at Shanxi University (SXU) and individual faculty members Qiao Quansheng and Wang Xiaoting recently won awards from the Chinese Language Resource Protection Program, according to SXU officials.

Launched by the Ministry of Education and the National Language Commission in 2015, the Chinese Language Resource Protection Program is the world's largest language resource protection program, which aims to promote and standardize the use of the national language -- as well as protecting the tongues of various ethnic groups in China.

The program's awards are given to groups and individuals contributing significantly to the program's implementation and development.

From 2015 to 2018, SXU's Research Institute of Linguistics undertook a special task of the program to research dialects in Shanxi province, with Qiao Quansheng, professor at the institute, appointed as the chief expert of the survey team and lecturer Wang Xiaoting being a backbone member of the team.

The institute and its research team completed 60 surveys and video recordings over the four years, winning recognition from education departments at the provincial and national level.